Hackathon encourages student innovation

More than 500 student hackers from Cal Poly Pomona and more than 20 other universities tirelessly toiled on their tech innovations and creations at Hackpoly 2017 this weekend.

The sky was the limit for these projects.

The hackathon encouraged any type of hardware, software or code-based project, and projects ranged from a Japanese language game to a blind dating app to a voice-activated rice cooker.

The hackathon was a testament to students’ efficiency and perseverance, but it also aimed to be alight-hearted event where participants could enjoy listening to tech talks by successful entrepreneurs, interacting with tech companies sponsoring the event and honing their skills at workshops.

“The whole event is an experience rather than building products itself,” said Hackpoly organizer Rushi Shah, a fourth-year business marketing student and president of Poly Founders. “It’s seeing how there’s so much that we still don’t know yet.”

Poly Founders, a CPP organization promoting entrepreneurship and innovation, hosted the fourth 24-hour hackathon at the Bronco Student Center where they could accommodate the large number of participants.